Because the next game was only two days away and it was an away game, so after playing West Ham United, Liverpool did not return to the base at all and went directly to Stoke-on-Trent to prepare for the next game.
On Monday, January 4, Willard spent 5 skill points to increase "Inverse Foot" from 85 to 86, leaving 156 skill points left.
The next day, at 21:00 on the evening of January 5, the first leg of the English League Cup semi-finals between Stoke City and Liverpool officially started at Stoke City's home stadium, the Britannia Stadium.
Speaking of which, the format of the EFL Cup is also quite strange. The games before the semi-finals are all determined by one game, but in the semi-finals, there are two rounds of home and away games. When it comes to the final, it’s another game that determines the outcome.
A decisive game became a two-round match. Although it provided insurance for the stronger giants, if they made a mistake in the first round, they could still make up for it in the second round. But for a team like Liverpool that is full of injuries, it is undoubtedly a burden.
Although the away-then-home schedule is more favorable to Liverpool, the last Premier League game and this EFL Cup semi-final were only two days apart. Klopp still had to rotate two or three players to let the tired players Take turns.
But even so, during the game, the overwhelmed Liverpool main players still suffered injuries. After all, this is the semifinals. If you survive the semifinals, you can reach the finals and have the possibility of competing for the championship.
Therefore, even if they are not as good as Liverpool on paper, Stoke City will still fight for victory. What's more, they are still at a disadvantage in terms of schedule, so they will have to fight hard in this game.
Although Liverpool did not concede a goal under the leadership of Willard, injuries appeared in just the 18th minute of the opening game.
Because there are too many injured players and the schedule is quite tight without holidays during the winter break, No. 10 Coutinho has started almost every game recently and finally couldn't hold on any longer.
In the 18th minute, when Coutinho broke through with the ball from the left, he strained his thigh with almost no contact. He had to fall down holding his thigh and was then carried out on a stretcher.
Klopp was so gloomy that he did not dare to send out No. 9 Benteke, who had just started the game. Instead, he used No. 33 forward Jordan Ibe to replace Coutinho.
When he came off the field, Coutinho covered his face and felt frustrated. Klopp also suppressed his depression and comforted Coutinho.
Coutinho's injured departure seemed to give Stoke City an opportunity and they stepped up their attack in the following minutes. However, not only did they fail to score Liverpool's goal, but they were forced by Willard in the 27th minute. As a result, attacking midfielder Afellay made a passing error. The ball he intended to pass to his teammates was deflected and was intercepted by experienced Liverpool center back Kolo Toure decisively.
After stealing the ball, Kolo Toure looked up and saw that Velard had thrown away Afellay and moved laterally into the gap. Toure did not hesitate and immediately passed the ball to Velarde, also avoiding the counterattack of the opponent's forward Bojan.
Willard stopped to pull the ball, turned around and easily passed the counter-attacking Stoke City midfielder Joff Camron, and immediately started to counterattack with the ball. Jordan Ibe, who had just come on, Firmino as the center, and winger Lallana immediately moved forward.
Joe Allen, Emre Can, and even the two full-backs on the two wings immediately started to press forward and participated in the counterattack.
Klopp's tactics are to press high and counterattack on the spot. When counterattacking, he goes all out and usually involves 6-8 players to participate in the counterattack. This total attack and total defense tactic is very demanding on physical fitness, and is one of the reasons why Red Army players are prone to injuries during the Premier League's intensive winter break.
However, in this counterattack, Liverpool also benefited from the fact that many people advanced to attack and the attack points were quite dispersed.
After a series of passes, cuts and movements by Willard, Firmino, Emre Can and others, Stoke City's defense, which had been hit by a counterattack, was torn to pieces. Finally, Willard made a breakthrough in the penalty area. The forward passed the ball diagonally to the side. Right winger Lallana rushed into the right rib of the penalty area to receive the ball and passed the ball in an inverted triangle. Firmino met the ball on the left side of the penalty spot of the penalty area and hit the goal frame.
Although Firmino's push shot did not perform well, the angle was a bit positive and was saved by goalkeeper Butland. But Butland's save failed to confiscate the ball. Instead, it bounced back into the small penalty area. The substitute forward Jordan Ibe seized the opportunity and kicked the ball into the goal with a supplementary shot.
"The ball is in!"
"After Coutinho went off injured, Jordan Ibe, who came on as a substitute, made a contribution. He scored a supplementary shot in the 27th minute, helping Liverpool gain a 1-0 lead in the away game."
"The pressure on Stoke City is now high. Not only are they lagging behind on aggregate, but Liverpool have also scored an away goal."
"Stoke City needs to increase their offensive intensity."
Indeed, the pressure on Stoke City instantly increased a lot, and they had to increase their offensive intensity after the game restarted. Correspondingly, Liverpool's defensive intensity has also increased.
As a result, it rained all night. Only a few minutes later, in the 34th minute, center back Lovren was trying to defend against a dangerous attack by Stoke City forward Bojan who dribbled the ball into the penalty area. Although he was accurate, He scooped the ball away from Bo Yang's feet, but he also injured his ankle and was forced to leave the field. Liverpool had to use two substitutions before the first half was over.
Even though the score is now leading, none of the Red Army fans at the scene or in front of the TV were happy, and almost everyone had a worried expression on their face.
Even the neutral commentator is numb:
"Oh, center back Lovren is also injured."
"Although he scooped the ball from Bo Yang's feet, he couldn't stand up. It seemed that his ankle was injured."
"Klopp had to use Milner, who had just returned from injury, as a substitute, and let Emre Can retreat to the back line and play as a central defender."
"Before the first half ended, Liverpool injured two people in a row and was forced to use two substitutions. The number of injuries in the Red Army has exceeded the ten-person mark, which is currently the highest number of injuries in the Premier League."
"It's really tragic."
"Now the schedule is so intensive, not only the Premier League, but also the EFL Cup, FA Cup, and Europa League. Liverpool is fighting on four fronts!"
"This is a huge pressure on both coach Klopp and the players who have not yet been injured."
"Just like Milner, he has just returned from injury. Even if he comes on, he should play for a few minutes or ten minutes in the second half to slowly adapt."
"As a result, Lovren is injured now, and Klopp has to send Milner to play for most of the remaining game. This may not be good news for Milner, who has just returned from injury, and it may happen again. The injury recurred.”
